Royal Canadian Navy Escorts the First Transatlantic Convoy: 16 Sept 1939

The war industries in Britain depended upon resources shipped from North America. The main
assembly areas for merchant shipping were the Nova Scotia ports of Halifax and Sydney. On 16
September 1939, the first transatlantic convoy, HX 1, sailed from Halifax for Britain. Two Royal Canadian
Navy (RCN) destroyers, HMCS
Saguenay
and HMCS
St. Laurent
, escorted the convoy. In the mid-
Atlantic, two Royal Navy cruisers, HMS
Berwick
and HMS
York
, assumed escort duties for the remainder
of the voyage. After fulfilling their duties, the RCN destroyers returned to Halifax.